Dialog system with automatic reactivation of speech acquiring mode

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to a dialog system allowing for automatically reactivating a speech acquiring mode after the dialog system delivers a response to a user request. The reactivation parameters, such as a delay, depend on a number of predetermined factors and conversation scenarios. The embodiments further provide for a method of operating of the dialog system. An exemplary method comprises the steps of: activating a speech acquiring mode, receiving a first input of a user, deactivating the speech acquiring mode, obtaining a first response associated with the first input, delivering the first response to the user, determining that a conversation mode is activated, and, based on the determination, automatically re-activating the speech acquiring mode within a first predetermined time period after delivery of the first response to the user.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to dialog systems, conversationalagents and chat information systems and, more particularly, to dialogsystems having the feature of automatic reactivation of speech acquiringmode enabling a user, in certain conversation scenarios, to make anadditional request after an answer to a user's previous request isdelivered by the dialog system.

BACKGROUND

The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are notnecessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued.Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches describedin this section are not prior art to the claims in this application andare not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

Today, dialog systems are widely used in the information technologyindustry, especially as mobile applications for wireless telephones andtablet computers. Generally, a dialog system refers to a computer-basedagent having a human-centric interface for accessing, processing,managing, and delivering information. Dialog systems are also known aschat information systems, spoken dialog systems, conversational agents,chatter robots, chatterbots, chatbots, chat agents, digital personalassistants, and automated online assistants, to name a few. All theseterms are within the scope of the present disclosure and referred to asa “dialog system” for simplicity.

Traditionally, a dialog system interacts with its users in naturallanguage to simulate an intelligent conversation and providepersonalized assistance to the users. For example, a user may generaterequests to the dialog system in the form of conversational questions,such as “Where is the nearest hotel?” or “What is the weather like inArlington?”, and receive corresponding answers from the dialog system inthe form of an audio and/or displayable message. The users may alsoprovide voice commands to the dialog system so as to perform certainfunctions including, for example, generating e-mails, making phonecalls, searching particular information, acquiring data, navigating,providing notifications and reminders, and so forth. Thus, dialogsystems are now very popular and are of great help, especially forholders of portable electronic devices such as smart phones, cellularphones, tablet computers, gaming consoles, and the like.

Historically, dialog systems, and especially spoken dialog systems,require a user to activate a dialog system before he makes a request. Itis obvious that otherwise dialog systems acquire all spoken words madeby the user, which will lead to the dialog system overloading, excessiveuse of computing resources, inaccuracy of dialog system responses, andso forth. Accordingly, users need to manually activate dialog systemsevery time they want to make a request. This may be very annoying andinconvenient for the users. Additionally, the need for manualreactivation of dialog systems does not allow the dialog systems to beuser friendly and keep human-like speech conversations, whichsignificantly limits their application.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

The present disclosure relates to embodiments of a dialog system and amethod of its operation, which overcome at least some drawbacks of priorart systems. In particular, the embodiments provide for a speechacquiring mode for a dialog system that can be manuallyactivated/deactivated and automatically activated/deactivated. Theembodiments provide for a feature allowing for automaticallyreactivating the speech acquiring mode after the dialog system hasdelivered a response to a user request. The reactivation is intelligentin terms of its dependence from a number of predetermined criteria,rules, and/or conversation scenarios. In some conversation scenarios,the reactivation is performed with a delay, which may depend on a numberof factors. In other conversation scenarios, the reactivation isintentionally suppressed based upon a type of a request or responsedelivered by the dialog system. It yet other conversation scenarios, thereactivation can last for a predetermined period of time, which may bealso intelligently selected based on a number of factors. These andother embodiments are further summarized in the following aspects of thepresent disclosure. These aspects, however, are not intended to limitthe scope of the subject matter.

According to an aspect of the embodiments of present disclosure, amethod is provided for operating of a dialog system. The method can beimplemented by means of a computing device having one or more processorsand a memory in association with the one or more processors. The methodcomprises the steps of activating a speech acquiring mode, receiving afirst input of a user, deactivating the speech acquiring mode, obtaininga first response associated with the first input, delivering the firstresponse to the user, determining that a conversation mode is activated,and, based on the determination, automatically re-activating the speechacquiring mode within a first predetermined time period after deliveringof the first response to the user.

In certain embodiments, the first input of the user may comprise aspeech-based input. The first input of the user may also comprise atext-based input. In certain embodiments, the method may furthercomprise the steps of receiving a second input of the user, obtaining asecond response associated with the second input, and delivering thesecond response to the user. Further, the method may comprise the stepof deactivating the speech acquiring mode after receiving of the secondinput of the user based on an instruction from a remote server or a typeof response.

In certain embodiments, the method may further comprise the steps ofdetermining that a voice activation mode is deactivated and, based onthe determination that that the voice activation mode is deactivated,the step of delivering the first response to the user may comprisedisplaying a displayable message associated with the first response tothe user.

In yet more embodiments, the conversation mode may enable the computingdevice to record the first input of the user. The conversation mode mayalso enable the computing device to recognize the first input of theuser. The conversation mode may also enable the computing device totransmit the first input of the user to a remote server.

In certain embodiments, the method may further comprise the steps ofrecognizing the first input of the user to generate a first recognizedinput and generating the first response to the recognized input. Incertain embodiments, the method may further comprise the step ofselecting the first predetermined time period depending on a type of thefirst input of the user. In certain embodiments, the method may furthercomprise the step of selecting the first predetermined time perioddepending on a type of the first response. In certain embodiments, themethod may further comprise the step of selecting the firstpredetermined time period depending on a length of the first response.The first predetermined time period can be fixed between 1 and 10seconds.

In certain embodiments, the method may further comprise the steps ofsetting an automatic recognition flag to the first response based on atype of the first response or a type of the first input and suppressingthe speech acquiring mode based on the automatic recognition flag. Thefirst response may comprise metadata, which set the first predeterminedtime period. The speech acquiring mode can be re-activated for a secondpredetermined time period. In yet more embodiments, the first responsemay comprise metadata, which may set the second time period. The step ofactivating of the speech acquiring mode may be performed in response todetermining an activation of an actionable button by the user.

According to another aspect of the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, a dialog system is provided. The dialog system may comprisea speech recognition module configured to receive a first user input,recognize at least a part of the first user input, and generate a firstrecognized input, when the speech recognition module is in a speechacquiring mode. The dialog system may further comprise a dialog managerconfigured to activate and deactivate the speech acquiring mode, and togenerate a first response to the first recognized input. The dialogsystem may comprise a user output module configured to deliver the firstresponse to a user. The dialog manager is further configured toautomatically re-activate the speech acquiring mode within a firstpredetermined time period after delivering of the first response to theuser, when a conversation mode is activated.

According to yet another aspect of the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, a non-transitory processor-readable medium havinginstructions stored thereon is provided. The instructions, when executedby one or more processors, may cause the one or more processors toimplement a method for operating of a dialog system. The method maycomprise the steps of activating a speech acquiring mode, receiving afirst input of a user, deactivating the speech acquiring mode, obtaininga first response associated with the first input, delivering the firstresponse to the user, determining that a conversation mode is activated,and, based on the determination, automatically re-activating the speechacquiring mode within a first predetermined time period after deliveringof the first response to the user.

In further example embodiments and aspects, modules, systems,subsystems, or devices can be adapted to perform the recited methodsteps. Other features and exemplary embodiments are described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in thefigures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicatesimilar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a high-level flow diagram of a general process for userinteraction with an exemplary spoken dialog system.

FIG. 2 shows a high level architecture of an exemplary spoken dialogsystem.

FIG. 3 shows a high-level block diagram illustrating an example userdevice suitable for implementing the methods described herein.

FIG. 4 shows a high-level block diagram of an example system environmentsuitable for practicing the present technologies.

FIG. 5 shows a high-level block diagram of another example systemenvironment suitable for practicing the present technologies.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a graphical user interface with chatfeatures for an exemplary user device.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of another graphical user interfacewith chat features for an exemplary user device.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of yet another graphical user interfacewith settings features for an exemplary user device.

FIG. 9 shows a process flow diagram showing a method for activation ofspeech acquiring mode.

FIG. 10 shows a process flow diagram showing a method for dialog systemoperation.

FIG. 11 shows a process flow diagram showing a first conversationscenario.

FIG. 12 shows a process flow diagram showing a second conversationscenario.

FIG. 13 shows a process flow diagram showing a third conversationscenario.

FIG. 14 shows a process flow diagram showing a fourth conversationscenario.

FIG. 15 shows a process flow diagram showing a fifth conversationscenario.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patentdocuments, to include one or more than one. In this document, the term“or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive “or,” such that “A or B”includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unless otherwiseindicated.

The following detailed description includes references to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of the detailed description.The drawings show illustrations in accordance with example embodiments.These example embodiments, which are also referred to herein as“examples,” are described in enough detail to enable those skilled inthe art to practice the present subject matter. The embodiments can becombined, other embodiments can be utilized, or structural, logical andelectrical changes can be made without departing from the scope of whatis claimed. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to betaken in a limiting sense, and the scope is defined by the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

The techniques of the embodiments disclosed herein may be implementedusing a variety of technologies. For example, the methods describedherein may be implemented in software executing on a computer system orin hardware utilizing either a combination of microprocessors or otherspecially designed application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs),programmable logic devices, or various combinations thereof. Inparticular, the methods described herein may be implemented by a seriesof computer-executable instructions residing on a storage medium such asa disk drive, or computer-readable medium. It should be noted thatmethods disclosed herein can be implemented by a computer (e.g., adesktop computer, tablet computer, laptop computer), game console,handheld gaming device, cellular phone, smart phone, smart televisionsystem, and so forth.

Introduction

As outlined above, embodiments of the present disclosure provide for adialog system having the feature for intelligent reactivating of aspeech acquiring mode depending on a number of factors and conversationscenarios. These embodiments will now be described with reference tofigures of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a high-level flow diagram 100 of a general process for userinteraction with an exemplary spoken dialog system. In general, the usermay interact with the dialog system utilizing a user device selectedfrom a wide range of electronic devices including, for example, acomputer (desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer), smartphone, cellular phone, game console, game pad, remote controller,television device, smart (Internet) television device, audio system,in-vehicle computer system, infotainment system, or any other suitableelectronic device. The interaction with the dialog system may includespeech commands, although key input commands, selection of actionable(clickable) messages, or gesture-based commands are also possible. Asdescribed below in greater detail, the dialog system may refer to asoftware mobile application installed on the user device, a server, or aremote device, or it may refer to a distributed application or acloud-based service.

As shown in FIG. 1, the user may commence interaction with the exemplaryspoken dialog system at operation 110 with activating a speech acquiringmode. This mode activates the dialog system to receive user requestssuch as spoken or typed questions or commands. The speech acquiring modeis typically activated by pressing a dedicated button, which is usuallyshown as a microphone image. Notably, the speech acquiring mode isactivated temporally (e.g., specifically for the time period required torecord a user oral request).

Accordingly, at operation 120, the user provides a speech-based (audio)user input (e.g., using one or more microphones). The user input mayrefer to an information request, such as “What is the weather liketoday?”, or a speech command such as to send a text message or the like.Once the user completes his request or command, the speech acquiringmode is deactivated and the dialog system may start its processing.

At operation 130, an automatic speech recognizer (ASR) of the dialogsystem may recognize the user input so as to translate spoken words,phrases, and sentences into text, which is referred herein to as arecognized input. The recognized input is then analyzed at operation 140by a natural language processing (NLP) module (for example,morphological analysis, part-of-speech tagging, or shallow parsing canbe performed). The NLP module may also map the recognized input or itsparts to one or more meaning representations (e.g., semantic frame) fromwhich the dialog act, user goal, and named entities are extracted by asemantic parser or statistical model.

At operation 150, a dialog manager generates an output (response) basedat least in part on the recognized input and located meaningrepresentations. For example, the dialog manager may retrieve specificinformation from one or more resources (e.g., electronic calendar,database, website, remote or local resources, remote or local services,etc.). At operation 160, the output is provided to the user. Generally,the output can be delivered in the form of text, image, audio, or videomessage. For these ends, an output renderer may be utilized, which maytransform text into speech and provide the output as a machine-generatedaudio signal. Alternatively, the output may be presented as a textmessage and shown on a display of the user device.

The process illustrated by diagram 100 can be performed cyclically. Morespecifically, if the user wants to keep a conversation with the dialogsystem open and provide an additional request or clarify anything inresponse to the dialog system output, the speech acquiring mode needs tobe re-activated so as to complete the operations 110-160. Theembodiments of the present disclosure enable automatically re-activatingthe speech acquiring mode depending on a number of factors. Among suchfactors are a type or parameter of first user request, type or parameterof dialog system response, and a conversation scenario, to name a few.Notably, the re-activation can be delayed for a time period after theoperation 160 is completed, with the time period being predetermined orintelligently selected based on the above factors or other criteria.Moreover, the speech acquiring mode can be activated for another timeperiod, which, again, can be predetermined (e.g., 1 to 10 seconds) orintelligently selected based on the above factors or other criteria.Accordingly, this feature enables the user to keep the conversation withthe dialog system in a natural manner, which is much less time consumingand annoying, especially when the user needs to manually reactivate thespeech acquiring mode or the dialog system itself.

System Architecture

The above given user interaction process is further illustrated in FIG.2, which shows a high level architecture of exemplary spoken dialogsystem 200, according to an example embodiment. It should be noted thatevery module of the dialog system 200 or associated architectureincludes hardware components, software components, or a combinationthereof. The dialog system 200 may be embedded or installed in the userdevice or server, or may be presented as a cloud computing module and/ora distributed computing module.

In the embodiment shown, the dialog system 200 includes an ASR 210configured to receive and process speech-based user inputs into asequence of parameter vectors. The ASR 210 further converts the sequenceof parameter vectors into a recognized input (i.e., a textual inputhaving one or more words, phrases, or sentences). The ASR 210 includesone or more speech recognizers such as a pattern-based speechrecognizer, free-dictation recognizer, address book based recognizer,dynamically created recognizer, and so forth.

Further, the dialog system 200 includes a NLP module 220 forunderstanding spoken language input. Specifically, the NLP module 220may disassemble and parse the recognized input to produce utterances,which are then analyzed utilizing, for example, morphological analysis,part-of-speech tagging, shallow parsing, and the like, and then maprecognized input or its parts to meaning representations.

The dialog system 200 further includes a dialog manager 230, whichcoordinates the activity of all components, controls dialog flows, andcommunicates with external applications, devices, services or resources.The dialog manager 230 may play many roles, which include discourseanalysis, knowledge database query, and system action prediction basedon the discourse context. In some embodiments, the dialog manager 230may contact one or more task managers (not shown) that may haveknowledge of specific task domains. In some embodiments, the dialogmanager 230 may communicate with various computing, logic, or storageresources 240, which may include, for example, a content storage, rulesdatabase, recommendation database, push notification database,electronic address book, email or text agents, dialog history database,disparate knowledge databases, map database, points of interestdatabase, geographical location determiner, clock, wireless networkdetector, search engines, social networking websites, blogging websites,news feeds services, and many more. The dialog manager 230 may employmultiple disparate approaches to generate outputs in response torecognized inputs. Some approaches include the use of statisticalanalysis, machine-learning algorithms (e.g., neural networks), heuristicanalysis, and so forth. The dialog manager 230 is one of the centralcomponents of dialog system 200. The major role of the dialog manager230 is to select the correct system actions based on observed evidencesand inferred dialog states from the results of NLP (e.g., dialog act,user goal, and discourse history). In addition, the dialog manager 230should be able to handle errors when the user input has ASR and NLPerrors caused by noises or unexpected inputs.

The dialog system 200 may further include an output renderer 250 fortransforming the output of the dialog manager 230 into a form suitablefor providing to the user. For example, the output renderer 250 mayemploy a text-to-speech engine or may contact a pre-recorded audiodatabase to generate an audio message corresponding to the output of thedialog manager 230. In certain embodiments, the output renderer 250 maypresent the output of the dialog manager 230 as a text message, animage, or a video message for further displaying on a display screen ofthe user device.

FIG. 3 is a high-level block diagram illustrating an example user device300 suitable for implementing the methods described herein. It is worthmentioning that all components of the user device 300 may include logicelements, hardware components, software (firmware) components, virtualcomponents, or a combination thereof. The user device 300 may include,be, or be an integral part of one or more of a variety of types ofdevices and systems such as a general-purpose computer, desktopcomputer, server, computer network, network service, and cloud computingservice, among others. Further, all modules shown in FIG. 3 may beoperatively coupled using any suitable wired, wireless, radio,electrical, or optical standards. As already outlined above, the userdevice 300 may refer to a smart phone, wireless telephone, and computer,such as a tablet computer, desktop computer, infotainment system,in-vehicle computing device, to name a few.

As shown in FIG. 3, the user device 300 includes the following hardwarecomponents: one or more processors 302, memory 304, one or more storagedevices 306, one or more input modules 308, one or more output modules310, network interface 312, and optional geo location determiner 314.The user device 300 also includes the following software or virtualcomponents: an operating system 320, dialog system 200, rules database330, and user profile/settings database 340. The dialog system 200provides a human-centric interface for accessing and managinginformation as discussed herein.

The processor(s) 302 is(are), in some embodiments, configured toimplement functionality and/or process instructions for execution withinthe user device 300. For example, the processor(s) 302 may processinstructions stored in memory 304 and/or instructions stored on storagedevices 306. Such instructions may include components of an operatingsystem 320 and dialog system 200. The user device 300 may also includeone or more additional components not shown in FIG. 3, such as ahousing, power supply, and communication bus, among others. Theseelements are omitted not to burden the description of the presentembodiments.

Memory 304, according to one example embodiment, is configured to storeinformation within the user device 300 during operation. Memory 304, insome example embodiments, may refer to a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium or a computer-readable storage device.In some examples, memory 304 is a temporary memory, meaning that aprimary purpose of memory 304 may not be long-term storage. Memory 304may also refer to a volatile memory, meaning that memory 304 does notmaintain stored contents when memory 304 is not receiving power.Examples of volatile memories include random access memories (RAM),dynamic random access memories (DRAM), static random access memories(SRAM), and other forms of volatile memories known in the art. In someexamples, memory 304 is used to store program instructions for executionby the processors 302. Memory 304, in one example embodiment, is used bysoftware (e.g., the operating system 320) or dialog system 200,executing on user device 300 to temporarily store information duringprogram execution. One or more storage devices 306 can also include oneor more transitory or non-transitory computer-readable storage mediaand/or computer-readable storage devices. In some embodiments, storagedevices 306 may be configured to store greater amounts of informationthan memory 304. Storage devices 306 may further be configured forlong-term storage of information. In some examples, the storage devices306 include non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non-volatilestorage elements include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, solid-statediscs, flash memories, forms of electrically programmable memories(EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable memories, and otherforms of non-volatile memories known in the art.

Still referencing FIG. 3, the user device 300 includes one or more inputmodules 308. The input modules 308 are configured to receive userinputs. Examples of input modules 308 include a microphone, keyboard,keypad, mouse, trackball, touchscreen, touchpad, or any other devicecapable of detecting an input from a user or other source in the form ofspeech, audio, or tactile actions, and relaying the input to the userdevice 300 or components thereof. The output modules 310, in someexample embodiments, are configured to provide output to users throughvisual or auditory channels. Output modules 310 may include a videographics adapter card, liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor, lightemitting diode (LED) monitor, sound card, speaker, or any other devicecapable of generating output that may be intelligible to a user.

The user device 300, in certain example embodiments, includes networkinterface 312. The network interface 312 can be utilized to communicatewith external devices, servers, and networked systems via one or morecommunications networks such as one or more wired, wireless, or opticalnetworks including, for example, the Internet, intranet, local areanetwork (LAN), wide area network (WAN), cellular phone networks (e.g.Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications network, packet switchingcommunications network, circuit switching communications network),Bluetooth radio, and an IEEE 802.11-based radio frequency network, amongothers. The network interface 312 may be a network interface card, suchas an Ethernet card, optical transceiver, radio frequency transceiver,or any other type of device that can send and receive information. Otherexamples of such network interfaces may include Bluetooth®, 3G, 4G, andWiFi® radios in mobile computing devices as well as Universal Serial Bus(USB).

The user device 300 may further include a geo location determiner 314for determining a current geographical location of the user device. Thegeo location determiner 314 may utilize a number of different methodsfor determining geographical location including, for example, receivingand processing signals of Global Positioning Systems (GPS), GLONASSsatellite navigation systems, or the Galileo satellite navigationsystem; utilizing multilateration of radio signals between radio towers(base stations); or utilizing geolocation methods associated withInternet Protocol (IP) addresses, Media Access Control (MAC) addresses,Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), or other technologies.

The operating system 320 may control one or more functionalities of userdevice 300 or components thereof. For example, the operating system 320may interact with the dialog system 200, rules database 330, and userprofile/settings database 340, and may further facilitate one or moreinteractions between elements 200, 330, 340 and one or more ofprocessors 302, memory 304, storage devices 306, input modules 308, andoutput modules 310. As shown in FIG. 3, the operating system 320 mayinteract with or be otherwise coupled to the dialog system 200 andcomponents thereof. In some embodiments, the dialog system 200 can beincluded into the operating system 320. Notably, the user device 300 andits components, such as the dialog system 200, may also interact withone or more remote storage or computing resources including, forexample, web resources, web sites, social networking websites, bloggingwebsites, news feeds, email servers, web calendars, event databases,ticket aggregators, map databases, points of interest databases, and soforth.

In certain embodiments, the rules database 330, which can be optional inmany designs, includes one or more of the following: rules, programcodes, instructions, parameters, specifications, and other data toenable the dialog system to operate in a designed way. The userprofile/settings database 340, which can also be optional in manydesigns, includes user profiles, personalized settings, userpreferences, user data, and so forth. In other words, the dialog system200 may operate relying on instructions stored in the rules database 330and/or user preferences set in the user profile/settings database 340.

FIG. 4 shows a high-level block diagram of an example system environment400 suitable for practicing the present technologies. The systemenvironment 400 includes a user device 300 having a dialog system 200and databases 330, 340 installed therein. There is also provided acommunications network 410 allowing the user device 300 to communicatewith one or more web resources and/or web services 420.

In this example embodiment, the processing of user requests is performedsolely using hardware and software/virtual components of the user device300 itself. The user device 300 may, however, communicate with the webresources and/or web services 420 in order to obtain requestedinformation or perform a requested action.

FIG. 5 shows a high-level block diagram of another example systemenvironment 500 suitable for practicing the present technologies. Morespecifically, this embodiment refers to a distributed system environmentor cloud-based system environment, where a user device 300 serves aclient, and the dialog system 200 and the databases 330, 340 are in anetworked server(s).

In this example, the user device 300 is configured to receive or captureuser audio inputs (e.g., via one or more microphones) or tactile basedinputs and deliver them to the dialog system 200 via a communicationsnetwork 410. Once the user input is processed and a response isgenerated, it is delivered from the dialog system 200 to the user device300 via the communications network 410. Once the response is received,the user device 300 simply plays back or displays it.

The web resources and/or web services 420 shown in FIGS. 4, 5 refer oneor more of the following: webpages, websites, Internet search engines,databases, data storage, data aggregators (e.g., ticket aggregators),file sharing websites, e-mail servers, e-mail services, instantmessaging services, social networking websites, blogging websites,micro-blogging websites, news services, news Rich Site Summaries (RSS),map services, online banking services, online calendar services, onlineappointment scheduling services, location determining services, weatherservices, time services, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), andso forth. Notably, the dialog system 200 and its components areconfigured to operatively communicate with these or similar webresources and/or web services 420 to exchange data depending on aparticular application and user request. For example, the dialog system200 may communicate with the at least one web resource and/or webservice 420 so as to generate responses to user inputs (e.g., toretrieve/download weather information). In another example, the dialogsystem 200 may communicate with the at least one web resource and/or webservice 420 so as to identify triggering events (e.g., identifying a newstatus of the user's friend via at least one social networking site). Inyet another embodiment, the recommendation manager may communicate withthe at least one web resource and/or web service 420 so as to generateone or more dialog recommendations for the user (e.g., communicatingwith a map service to identify points of interests located near acurrent location of the user or provide navigation).

Graphical User Interface

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of a graphical user interface 600with chat features for an exemplary user device 300 shown in the form ofa wireless telephone with a touchscreen. It worth mentioning that thesame or similar graphical user interface 600 may be provided for adesktop or laptop computer, tablet computer, or any other suitabledevice.

Generally, the user interface 600 is the first screen displayable whenthe user starts the operation of the dialog system 200. In the exampleembodiment shown, the user interface 600 includes a container 610 (mayalso refer to a window widget or output element) where an avatar 620 isdisplayed. Optionally, the user can select an avatar of his preferenceor construct it from disparate elements (e.g., select clothes, eyes,hair, etc.).

The user interface 600 also includes a number of actionable (clickable)buttons including a microphone button 630, a settings button 640, and aspeaker button 650. The microphone button 630, when pressed by a user,manually activates a speech acquiring mode of a dialog system. In thismode, the user device 300 records user speech inputs or allows the userto make an input using a keypad. Typically, the mode is active as longas the user makes an input, and once the input is completed, the speechacquiring mode can be automatically or manually deactivated. After itsdeactivation, the dialog system 200 starts processing the recorded inputto generate a corresponding answer. That said, if the user wants to makea request to the dialog system 200, he needs to press the microphonebutton 630, provide an input, and wait for a response.

In certain embodiments, a first press on the microphone button 630activates the speech acquiring mode, while a secondary press on themicrophone button 630 deactivates the speech acquiring mode and/orcancels just made user input. In some embodiments, there may be alsoprovided a cancelation button (not shown) enabling the user to stop orcancel a current action/mode performed by the dialog system 200.

Still referencing FIG. 6, the setting button 640, when pressed by theuser, brings a settings user interface 800 shown in FIG. 8. The settinginterface enables the user to adjust parameters of the dialog system200, establish or edit his profile, create or edit specific rules andcriteria, and so forth. In one example, the user may activate ordeactivate a conversation mode. Generally, the conversation mode enablesthe dialog system 200 to keep conversations with the user byautomatically re-activating the speech acquiring mode in certain timeinstances.

Further, the speaker button 650 controls the method of delivering dialogsystem responses to the user. Namely, this button enables a user toselect whether a responses are provided as audio messages through aspeaker or as displayable messages only.

Notably, the graphical user interface 600 may include other containers,widgets, icons, or buttons such as a button to manually activate ordeactivate the conversation mode. Moreover, in certain embodiments, theuser may also activate or interact with the user interface 600 byactuating traditional buttons present on the user device (e.g., a “mainmenu” button 660 or a key pad). In yet other embodiments, the user mayactivate or interact with the user interface 600 by giving a gesturebased command.

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of another graphical userinterface 700 with chat features for an exemplary user device 300 shownin the form of a wireless telephone with a touchscreen. Generally, theuser interface 700 is a screen displayable to the user after the dialogsystem 200 processed at least one user input.

In particular, the user interface 700 includes the container 610 withthe avatar 620, clickable buttons (i.e., the microphone button 630,settings button 640 and speaker button 650), and also a container 710.The container 710 is used for displaying messages (i.e., text, image, orvideo based messages) generated by the dialog system 200. As shown inFIG. 7, the container 710 may display a user input 730 in the form of atext message after it was input by the user using a keyboard or after itwas spoken and recognized by the dialog system 200. Further, thecontainer 710 may show a response 720 of the dialog system 200 to aparticular user input such as the user input 730. Similarly, theresponse 720 can be in the text message. Notably, the container 710 maydisplay multiple user inputs and multiple dialog system responses, oneafter another, to reflect a conversation of the user with the dialogsystem 200.

FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of yet another graphical userinterface being a settings user interface 800 with settings features foran exemplary user device 300 shown in the form of a wireless telephonewith a touchscreen. The settings user interface 800 enables the user tomanage the operation of the dialog system, create and edit user profileand parameters/rules associated thereto, and activate/deactivatedisparate features and modes.

In the example shown, there are the following control buttons or radiobuttons: “Conversation Mode” radio button 810, “Voice Activation” radiobutton 820, “Voice Settings” clickable button 830, and “Customization”clickable button 840. More specifically, “Conversation Mode” radiobutton 810 enables the user to manually activate or deactivate theconversation mode. When this mode is activated, the dialog system keepsthe dialog with the user by automatically re-activating the speechacquiring mode after a response is delivered to the user and whencertain predetermined criteria are met. “Voice Activation” radio button820 enables the user to activate or deactivate the mode of voiceactivation (i.e. “wake-up”) of the dialog system. For example, thedialog system may be activated (i.e. “woken up”) after the user says aphrase, such as ‘Hay, Assistant!’ “Voice Settings” clickable button 830enables the user to set characteristics for presenting audio message(e.g., to select a voice). Finally, “Customization” clickable button 840enables the user to customize his profile, specific rules or parametersof the dialog system, and so forth. Some or all of the settings can bestored in the user profile/settings database 340 for further referenceby the dialog system 200.

Operation Methods

This section of the document provides multiple examples of operationmethods. First, with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, there are describedgeneralized operation methods of dialog system 200, and further, withreference to FIGS. 11-15, there are provided more specific examples(i.e., conversation scenarios).

FIG. 9 is a process flow diagram showing a method 900 for activation ofspeech acquiring mode, according to an example embodiment. The method900 may be performed by processing logic that may comprise hardware(e.g., decision making logic, dedicated logic, programmable logic, andmicrocode), software (such as software run on a general-purpose computersystem or a dedicated machine), or a combination of both. In one exampleembodiment, the processing logic refers to the dialog system 200 or itscomponents. In other words, the method 900 can be performed by variouscomponents discussed above with reference to FIGS. 2-5. Notably, thebelow recited steps of method 900 may be implemented in an orderdifferent than described and shown in FIG. 9. Moreover, the method 900may have additional steps not shown herein, but which can be evident forthose skilled in the art from the present disclosure. The method 900 mayalso have fewer steps than outlined below and shown in FIG. 9.

As shown in the figure, the process commences at the decision block 910,when the dialog system 200 determines whether or not a voiceconversation mode is activated. The step can be performed each time whenthe dialog system 200 is started or after the dialog system 200 justdelivered a response to a user request. If it is determined that thevoice activation mode is not activated by the user, the method 900proceeds to the step 920, which instructs the dialog system 200 that aspeech acquiring mode shall not be automatically activated after aresponse is delivered to the user. Otherwise, if it is determined thatthe voice activation mode is already activated by the user in settings,the method 900 proceeds to the step 930, which instructs the dialogsystem 200 to determine whether or not the conversation mode isactivated.

If it is determined that the conversation mode is not activated by theuser, the method 900 proceeds to the step 940, which instructs thedialog system 200 to determine whether or not a previously deliveredresponse includes metadata with an “automatic recognition” flag with a“true” value. If it is determined that the “automatic recognition” flagdoes not have a “true” value (i.e., it has “false” value), the method900 proceeds to the step 920, which instructs the dialog system 200 thatthe speech acquiring mode shall not be automatically activated after aresponse is delivered to the user. Otherwise, if it is determined thatthe “automatic recognition” flag has the “true” value, the method 900proceeds to the step 950, which instructs the dialog system 200 that thespeech acquiring mode shall be automatically re-activated after aresponse is delivered to the user.

If in the step 930 it is determined that the conversation mode wasactivated by the user, the method 900 proceeds to the step 960, whichinstructs the dialog system 200 to determine whether or not a previouslydelivered response includes metadata with a “automatic recognition” flaghaving a “false” value. If it is determined that the “automaticrecognition” flag in the metadata indeed has the “false” value, themethod 900 proceeds to the step 950, which instructs the dialog system200 that the speech acquiring mode shall not be automatically activatedafter a response is delivered to the user. Otherwise, if it isdetermined that the “automatic recognition” flag does not have the“false” value (i.e., it has “true” value), the method 900 proceeds tothe step 970, which instructs the dialog system 200 to determine whetheror not a previously delivered response has a suppression instruction(for example, it is determined if a previously delivered responseincludes a dedicated instruction to suppress the speech acquiring mode).Accordingly, if it is determined that a previously delivered responseincluded a suppression instruction, the method 900 proceeds to the step950, which instructs the dialog system 200 that the speech acquiringmode shall not be automatically activated after a response is deliveredto the user. Otherwise, if it is determined that a previously deliveredresponse did not include a suppression instruction, the method 900proceeds to the step 920, which instructs the dialog system 200 that thespeech acquiring mode shall be automatically re-activated after aresponse is delivered to the user.

FIG. 10 is a process flow diagram showing a method 1000 for operation ofa dialog system according to an example embodiment. The method 1000 maybe performed by processing logic that may comprise hardware (e.g.,decision making logic, dedicated logic, programmable logic, andmicrocode), software (such as software run on a general-purpose computersystem or a dedicated machine), or a combination of both. In one exampleembodiment, the processing logic refers to the dialog system 200 or itscomponents. In other words, the method 1000 can be performed by variouscomponents discussed above with reference to FIGS. 2-5. It should bealso appreciated that the method 1000 is just one example operation ofthe dialog system 200. In addition, the below recited steps of method1000 may be implemented in an order different than described and shownin FIG. 10. Moreover, the method 1000 may have additional steps notshown herein, but which can be evident for those skilled in the art fromthe present disclosure. The method 1000 may also have fewer steps thanoutlined below and shown in FIG. 10.

The method 1000 starts at operation 1010 with activating a speechacquiring mode of the dialog system 200. This can be done manually bypressing the microphone button 630 or when the dialog system 200 isstarted, e.g. by the a user tap or by an activation word or anactivation phrase, a user opening push message, a reminder, anotification, and so forth. In an example embodiment, a ‘listed uponstartup’ option may be active for a microphone, according to which themicrophone may be activated upon the start (‘wake up’) of the dialogsystem 200. Once the speech acquiring mode is activated, the user isinvited to provide an oral request. Accordingly, at operation 1020, thedialog system 200 receives a first input of the user and the speechacquiring mode is deactivated. In some embodiments, while the speechacquiring mode is active, the dialog system 200 or the user device 300records the user input, but after the speech acquiring mode isdeactivated the recorded user input is processed by the dialog system200.

Still referencing FIG. 10, at operation 1030, the dialog system 200processes the first input, and then obtains and delivers a firstresponse to the first input. In one example embodiment, the delivery ofthe first response can include presenting an audio message to a user viaa speaker or headphones of the user device 300. In another exampleembodiment, the delivery of the first response can include presenting adisplayable message on a display of the user device 300, and the messagecan include text, image, video, or any other displayable content. In yetmore embodiments, the response can be delivered as both an audio messageand displayable message.

Further, at operation 1040, the dialog system 200 determines that aconversation mode is activated. As mentioned above, the conversationmode can be enabled by the user in the settings user interface 800. Atoperation 1050, based on the determination, the dialog system 200automatically re-activates the speech acquiring mode within a firstpredetermined time period after delivering of the first response to theuser. In an example embodiment, the dialog system 200 may determinewhether the mode (when the dialog system responses are presented in theform of audio messages in addition to displayable messages) is activated(‘mute off’ mode) or deactivated (‘mute on’ mode). In the ‘mute off’mode, the activation of the speech acquiring mode is done immediatelyafter the dialog system 200 finishes speaking (unless there is aninstruction to do otherwise). In the ‘mute on’ mode, a plurality ofpredetermined rules may be used to determine how much time is needed forthe user to read/understand the first response (e.g., if graphics arepresented in the first response).

In one example embodiment, the first predetermined time period is fixed.For example, the first predetermined time period may be anywhere between0.1 second to 20 seconds, but more preferably it is between 1 second and10 seconds. In one instance, it can be 2 seconds, but in anotherinstance it can be 5 seconds depending on other factors.

In another embodiment, the first predetermined time period isdynamically selected or determined based on predetermined criteria orrules. For example, the first predetermined time period may depend on atype of first user input. In another example, the first predeterminedtime period may depend on a type of first response delivered to the user(e.g., when a response relates to reading of an email, the firstpredetermined time period may be longer in contrast than when a responserelates to reading of current weather parameters). In yet anotherexample, the first predetermined time period may depend on a length ofthe first response delivered to the user. The length may be determinedby a number of words or letters in the response, although othercomplexity criteria can be employed. For example, if the response isless than 10 words long, the first predetermined time period can be just1 second; if the response is between 10 and 20 words, the firstpredetermined time period is 3 seconds; if the response is between 20and 30 words, the first predetermined time period is 5 seconds, and soforth. It should be clear that the first predetermined time period maydepend on a number of factors and predetermined rules pre-selected forcertain conversation scenarios. In yet more embodiments, the firstpredetermined time period can be set by metadata associated with theresponse.

Notably, the speech acquiring mode is re-activated for a secondpredetermined time period, when the dialog system 200 awaits and recordsthe next user input. Similarly to above, the second predetermined timeperiod may depend on a number of factors. For example, in one exampleembodiment, the second predetermined time period is fixed. It can beanywhere between 1 second to 20 seconds, but more preferably it isbetween 1 second and 10 seconds. In some examples, the secondpredetermined time period can be set by metadata associated with theresponse. In yet another example embodiment, the second predeterminedtime period is dynamically selected or determined based on disparatepredetermined criteria or rules. For example, the second predeterminedtime period may depend on a type of first user input. In anotherexample, the second predetermined time period may depend on a type offirst response delivered to the user. In another example, the secondpredetermined time period may depend on a length of the first responsedelivered to the user. The length may be determined by a number of wordsor letters in the response, although other complexity criteria can beemployed. It should be clear that the second predetermined time periodmay depend on a number of factors and predetermined rules pre-selectedfor certain conversation scenarios.

Still referencing to FIG. 10, at operation 1060, the dialog system 200receives a second input of the user and deactivates the speech acquiringmode (which was activated at the operation 1040). Similarly to above, atoperation 1070, the dialog system 200 obtains and delivers a secondresponse associated with the second input of the user.

Accordingly, the operations of method 1000 may be cyclically repeatedover and over again so that the user may experience a natural languageconversation with the dialog system 200. The use of first and secondpredetermined time periods allows the dialog system 200 to intelligentlyexpect when a next user request will be made to provide the most naturaldialog interaction experience to the user, and without excessiveconsumption of computational and power resources.

As already outlined above, in certain embodiments, the response of thedialog system 200 may include metadata, which may include additionalinstructions, for example, in the form of the automatic recognitionflag. This flag can be used to initiate recognition if the flag true orforcefully suppress the re-activation of the speech acquiring mode afterthe response is delivered to the user. In other embodiments, themetadata may set the first and/or second predetermined time periodsequal to zero. In this case, the user will not be able to provide aninput without manual reactivation of the speech acquiring mode.

In some additional embodiments, metadata may also include additionalinstructions setting emotional characteristics to a correspondingresponse to be delivered to the user. The emotional characteristics mayrelate to the appearance of the avatar 620 and/or tone, voice,intonation, volume or other parameters of the audio message associatedwith the dialog system response.

In other embodiments, metadata may also include instructions to certainhardware or software resources of the user device 300. For example,there may be instructions to acquire current geographical location ofthe user, store or retrieve certain data to the user profile, and soforth.

Conversation Scenarios

Scenario 1

This exemplary conversation scenario illustrates automatic activation ofthe speech acquiring mode after a response is delivered to a user. Inthis scenario, the voice activation mode is activated and a conversationmode is also activated (e.g., through the settings user interface 800).

FIG. 11 is a process flow diagram showing a first conversation scenariomethod 1100 according to an example embodiment. Similar to above, themethod 1100 can be performed by one or more components of the dialogsystem 200 and/or the user device 300. Notably, the method 1100 may haveadditional steps or may have fewer steps than shown, and the order ofthe steps may differ from that shown.

At step 1110, a user presses the microphone button 630 to activate thespeech acquiring mode. At step 1120, the user provides an input and thedialog system 200 acquires, recognizes, and processes the user input. Atstep 1130, the dialog system 200 generates and delivers a response tothe user. At step 1140, the dialog system 200 automatically re-activatesthe speech acquiring mode within a first predetermined time period andfor a second predetermined time period.

Scenario 2

This exemplary conversation scenario illustrates temporary suppressingof the conversation mode upon input using a keyboard. In this scenario,the voice activation mode is activated and a conversation mode is alsoactivated (e.g., through the settings user interface 800).

FIG. 12 is a process flow diagram showing a second conversation scenariomethod 1200 according to an example embodiment. Similar to above, themethod 1200 can be performed by one or more components of the dialogsystem 200 and/or the user device 300. Notably, the method 1200 may haveadditional steps or may have fewer steps than shown, and the order ofthe steps may differ from that shown.

At step 1210, a user makes a first input to the dialog system 200 usinga keyboard or touchscreen. At step 1220, the dialog system 200 acquiresand processes the first input. At step 1230, the dialog system 200generates and delivers a response to the first input in the form of anaudio and/or text message. Further, the user may make a second input. Ifthe second input is in a text form (e.g., when the user uses thekeyboard), the dialog system 200 does not activate the speech acquiringmode. Otherwise, if the second input is in a speech form, the dialogsystem 200 activates the speech acquiring mode and further processing isperformed in accordance with Scenario 1.

Scenario 3

This exemplary conversation scenario illustrates suppression of thespeech acquiring mode based on a dialog system response. In thisscenario, the voice activation mode is activated and a conversation modeis also activated (e.g., through the settings user interface 800).

FIG. 13 is a process flow diagram showing a third conversation scenariomethod 1300 according to an example embodiment. Similar to above, themethod 1300 can be performed by one or more components of the dialogsystem 200 and/or the user device 300. Notably, the method 1300 may haveadditional steps or may have fewer steps than shown, and the order ofthe steps may differ from that shown.

At step 1310, a user presses the microphone button 630 to activate thespeech acquiring mode. At step 1320, the user provides an input and thedialog system 200 acquires, recognizes, and processes the user input. Atstep 1330, the dialog system 200 generates and delivers a response tothe user. The response includes metadata having the “automaticrecognition” flag with the “false” value. At step 1340, the dialogsystem 200 does not automatically re-activate the speech acquiring modeas prescribed by the metadata.

Scenario 4

This exemplary conversation scenario illustrates automatic activation ofthe speech acquiring mode based on a dialog system response. In thisscenario, the voice activation mode is activated and a conversation modeis not activated (e.g., through the settings user interface 800).

FIG. 14 is a process flow diagram showing a fourth conversation scenariomethod 1400 according to an example embodiment. Similar to above, themethod 1400 can be performed by one or more components of the dialogsystem 200 and/or the user device 300. Notably, the method 1400 may haveadditional steps or may have fewer steps than shown, and the order ofthe steps may differ from that shown.

At step 1410, a user presses the microphone button 630 to activate thespeech acquiring mode. At step 1420, the user provides an input and thedialog system 200 acquires, recognizes, and processes the user input. Atstep 1430, the dialog system 200 generates and delivers a response tothe user. The response includes metadata having the “automaticrecognition” flag with the “true” value. At step 1440, the dialog system200 automatically re-activates the speech acquiring mode within a firstpredetermined time period and for a second predetermined time period.

Scenario 5

This exemplary conversation scenario illustrates operation of the dialogsystem when the speech acquiring mode is not activated due tosuppression based on a suppression instruction. Accordingly, in thisscenario, the voice activation mode is not activated and a conversationmode is also not activated (e.g., through the settings user interface800).

FIG. 15 is a process flow diagram showing a fifth conversation scenariomethod 1500, according to an example embodiment. Similar to above, themethod 1500 can be performed by one or more components of the dialogsystem 200 and/or the user device 300. Notably, the method 1500 may haveadditional steps or may have fewer steps than shown, and the order ofthe steps may differ from that shown.

At step 1510, a user provides an input using a keyboard or touchscreen.At step 1520, the dialog system 200 acquires and processes the userinput. At step 1530, the dialog system 200 generates and delivers aresponse to the user in the form of displayable message only, forexample, opening a webpage, launching an application, initiating mediaplayback, and so forth. At step 1540, the dialog system 200 does notautomatically re-activate the speech acquiring mode.

Thus, the dialog system and method of its operation have been described.Although embodiments have been described with reference to specificexample embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications andchanges can be made to these example embodiments without departing fromthe broader spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly,the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrativerather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for operating a dialog system, themethod implemented by one or more processors and comprising: providing,at a graphical interface associated with the dialog system, anactionable graphical button that is selectable through user interfaceinput to activate or deactivate a conversation mode of the dialogsystem; activating the conversation mode of the dialog system inresponse to a selection of the provided actionable graphical button;after activating the conversation mode of the dialog system: activatinga speech acquiring mode of the dialog system in response to a userspeaking an activation phrase; receiving, via the speech acquiring modeafter activating the speech acquiring mode, a first spoken input of theuser; deactivating, after receiving the first spoken input of the user,the speech acquiring mode; obtaining a first response associated withthe first spoken input; delivering the first response in response toreceiving the first spoken input; determining, in response to the firstresponse being of a first type and in response to the conversation modebeing activated, to automatically re-activate the speech acquiring modeafter delivery of the first response; automatically re-activating thespeech acquiring mode after delivery of the first response in responseto determining to automatically re-activate the speech acquiring modeafter delivery of the first response; receiving, via the speechacquiring mode automatically reactivated after delivery of the firstresponse, a second spoken input of the user; obtaining a second responseassociated with the second spoken input; and delivering the secondresponse in response to receiving the second spoken input via theautomatically re-activated speech acquiring mode.
 2. The method of claim1, further comprising: determining, in response to the second responsealso being of the first type and in response to the conversation modebeing activated, to automatically re-activate the speech acquiring modeafter delivery of the second response; automatically re-activating thespeech acquiring mode after delivery of the second response in responseto determining to automatically re-activate the speech acquiring modeafter delivery of the second response; receiving, via the speechacquiring mode automatically re-activated after delivery of the secondresponse, a third spoken input of the user; obtaining a third responseassociated with the third spoken input; and delivering the thirdresponse in response to receiving the third spoken input via theautomatically re-activated speech acquiring mode.
 3. The method of claim1, further comprising: determining to suppress reactivation of thespeech acquiring mode after delivery of the second response despite theconversation mode being activated, wherein determining to suppressreactivation of the speech acquiring mode is in response to the secondresponse being of a second type that is distinct from the first type. 4.The method of claim 1, further comprising after deliver of the secondresponse: activating the speech acquiring mode of the dialog system inresponse to an additional instance of the user speaking the activationphrase; receiving, via the speech acquiring mode after activating thespeech acquiring mode, an additional spoken input of the user;deactivating, after receiving the additional spoken input of the user,the speech acquiring mode; obtaining an additional response associatedwith the additional spoken input; delivering the additional response inresponse to receiving the additional spoken input; determining tosuppress reactivation of the speech acquiring mode after delivery of theadditional response despite the conversation mode being activated,wherein determining to suppress reactivation of the speech acquiringmode is in response to the additional response being of a second typethat is distinct from the first type.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinobtaining the first response associated with the first spoken inputcomprises: processing the first spoken input, using an automatic speechrecognizer, to generate a recognized input; and generating the firstresponse based on the recognized input.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein generating the first response based on the recognized inputcomprises: retrieving text based on the recognized input; transformingthe text into a machine-generated audio signal; and using themachine-generated audio signal as the first response.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein automatically re-activating the speech acquiring modeoccurs immediately after the machine-generated audio signal has beenprovided as output to the user.
 8. A system, the system comprising:instructions stored in memory, one or more processors executing thestored instructions to cause the one or more processors to: provide, ata graphical interface associated with a dialog system, an actionablegraphical button that is selectable through user interface input toactivate or deactivate a conversation mode of the dialog system;activate the conversation mode of the dialog system in response to aselection of the provided actionable graphical button; after activatingthe conversation mode of the dialog system: activate a speech acquiringmode of the dialog system in response to a user speaking an activationphrase; receive, via the speech acquiring mode after activating thespeech acquiring mode, a first spoken input of the user; deactivate,after receiving the first spoken input of the user, the speech acquiringmode; obtain a first response associated with the first spoken input;deliver the first response in response to receiving the first spokeninput; determine, in response to the first response being of a firsttype and in response to the conversation mode being activated, toautomatically re-activate the speech acquiring mode after delivery ofthe first response; automatically re-activate the speech acquiring modeafter delivery of the first response in response to determining toautomatically re-activate the speech acquiring mode after delivery ofthe first response; receive, via the speech acquiring mode automaticallyreactivated after delivery of the first response, a second spoken inputof the user; obtain a second response associated with the second spokeninput; and deliver the second response in response to receiving thesecond spoken input via the automatically re-activated speech acquiringmode.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors, inexecuting the stored instructions, are further to: determine, inresponse to the second response also being of the first type and inresponse to the conversation mode being activated, to automaticallyre-activate the speech acquiring mode after delivery of the secondresponse; automatically re-activate the speech acquiring mode afterdelivery of the second response in response to determining toautomatically re-activate the speech acquiring mode after delivery ofthe second response; receive, via the speech acquiring modeautomatically re-activated after delivery of the second response, athird spoken input of the user; obtain a third response associated withthe third spoken input; and deliver the third response in response toreceiving the third spoken input via the automatically re-activatedspeech acquiring mode.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein the one ormore processors, in executing the stored instructions, are further to:determine to suppress reactivation of the speech acquiring mode afterdelivery of the second response despite the conversation mode beingactivated, wherein determining to suppress reactivation of the speechacquiring mode is in response to the second response being of a secondtype that is distinct from the first type.
 11. The system of claim 8,wherein the one or more processors, in executing the storedinstructions, are further to: after deliver of the second response:activate the speech acquiring mode of the dialog system in response toan additional instance of the user speaking the activation phrase;receive, via the speech acquiring mode after activating the speechacquiring mode, an additional spoken input of the user; deactivate,after receiving the additional spoken input of the user, the speechacquiring mode; obtain an additional response associated with theadditional spoken input; deliver the additional response in response toreceiving the additional spoken input; determine to suppressreactivation of the speech acquiring mode after delivery of theadditional response despite the conversation mode being activated,wherein determining to suppress reactivation of the speech acquiringmode is in response to the additional response being of a second typethat is distinct from the first type.
 12. The system of claim 8, whereinthe one or more processors, in executing the instructions to obtain thefirst response associated with the first spoken input, are to: processthe first spoken input, using an automatic speech recognizer, togenerate a recognized input; and generate the first response based onthe recognized input.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the one ormore processors, in executing the instructions to generate the firstresponse based on the recognized input, are to: retrieve text based onthe recognized input; transform the text into a machine-generated audiosignal; and use the machine-generated audio signal as the firstresponse.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or moreprocessors, in executing the instructions to automatically re-activatethe speech acquiring mode, are to re-activate the speech acquiring modeimmediately after the machine-generated audio signal has been providedas output to the user.
 15. A non-transitory processor-readable mediumhaving instructions stored thereon, which when executed by one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to implement a method foroperating of a dialog system, the method comprising: providing, at agraphical interface associated with the dialog system, an actionablegraphical button that is selectable through user interface input toactivate or deactivate a conversation mode of the dialog system;activating the conversation mode of the dialog system in response to aselection of the provided actionable graphical button; after activatingthe conversation mode of the dialog system: activating a speechacquiring mode of the dialog system in response to a user speaking anactivation phrase; receiving, via the speech acquiring mode afteractivating the speech acquiring mode, a first spoken input of the user;deactivating, after receiving the first spoken input of the user, thespeech acquiring mode; obtaining a first response associated with thefirst spoken input; delivering the first response in response toreceiving the first spoken input; determining, in response to the firstresponse being of a first type and in response to the conversation modebeing activated, to automatically re-activate the speech acquiring modeafter delivery of the first response; automatically re-activating thespeech acquiring mode after delivery of the first response in responseto determining to automatically re-activate the speech acquiring modeafter delivery of the first response; receiving, via the speechacquiring mode automatically reactivated after delivery of the firstresponse, a second spoken input of the user; obtaining a second responseassociated with the second spoken input; and delivering the secondresponse in response to receiving the second spoken input via theautomatically re-activated speech acquiring mode.